Ezra 9 11

Ezra 9:11 kjv

Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.

Ezra 9:11 nkjv

which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity.

Ezra 9:11 niv

you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: 'The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other.

Ezra 9:11 esv

which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness.

Ezra 9:11 nlt

Your servants the prophets warned us when they said, 'The land you are entering to possess is totally defiled by the detestable practices of the people living there. From one end to the other, the land is filled with corruption.

Ezra 9 verses

Ezra 9 11 Meaning

Ezra 9:11 communicates that the land God instructed His people to possess had been declared ceremonially and morally defiled. This defilement stemmed from the abominable practices of the pagan inhabitants, which pervaded the land entirely. God had clearly warned the Israelites about this through His prophets, emphasizing the need for separation from these corrupting influences to prevent the land's spiritual pollution from infecting His chosen people. The verse highlights the historical and divine basis for Israel's unique covenant relationship, demanding holiness and a distinct way of life contrasting with the surrounding nations.

Ezra 9 11 Context

Ezra 9:11 is spoken within the fervent, penitential prayer of Ezra. Upon his return to Jerusalem from Persia, Ezra discovered that many of the Jewish exiles, including priests and Levites, had taken foreign wives from the surrounding idolatrous peoples, despite specific divine commands against such alliances. This news caused Ezra profound distress and grief. He tore his garments, pulled out his hair, and sat appalled, recognizing that this act of intermarriage was a direct transgression of the Mosaic covenant, especially concerning the separation from pagan influences. Ezra's prayer is a corporate confession, acknowledging that this sin mirrors the very disobedience that led to their seventy-year exile. Verse 11 specifically highlights God's clear prior warnings through the prophets, framing the current transgression not as ignorance but as a conscious disregard for divine instruction regarding the land's spiritual purity and the distinct identity of the covenant people. This historical context emphasizes the recurring temptation and consequences of Israel compromising with the practices of surrounding nations.

Ezra 9 11 Word analysis

• which you commanded: Refers directly to divine ordinances and instructions. The Hebrew word is tsawita (צִוִּיתָ), meaning to command, order, instruct. It underscores that God's people were fully aware of these stipulations, making their current transgression more egregious. This highlights divine sovereignty and prophetic reliability.
• by your servants the prophets: Establishes the authority and consistent nature of God's revelation. These are not new, arbitrary rules, but long-standing decrees conveyed through His chosen messengers throughout Israel's history (e.g., Moses, Jeremiah, Ezekiel).
• saying: Introduces the specific content of the divine warning.
• The land that you are entering to possess: Refers to the Promised Land, Canaan. Its possession was a conditional gift, contingent on obedience to God's covenant, particularly regarding separation from paganism. This reminds the returned exiles that their place in the land was a privilege, not an entitlement, and came with responsibilities.
• is a land unclean: The Hebrew word used here is niddah (נִדָּה). While often associated with ritual impurity, especially menstruation (Lev 15), applying it to the land conveys profound, pervasive spiritual defilement. It implies a repulsive, contaminating state, something that ought to be rejected and avoided. This is a powerful metaphorical description of the land's moral pollution.
• with the filthiness: The Hebrew word is tum'ah (טֻמְאָה), which broadly means impurity, uncleanness, or defilement. It is a technical term in the Torah for anything that makes one ritually unfit to approach God or sacred space. Here, it denotes profound moral and spiritual pollution by pagan practices.
• of the peoples of the lands: Refers to the surrounding pagan nations inhabiting Canaan (e.g., Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites). These peoples were characterized by their idolatrous worship and corrupt moral practices.
• with their abominations: The Hebrew word is to'evot (תּוֹעֲבוֹת), plural of to'evah. This term denotes something abhorrent or detestable to God. It encompasses a range of actions, including idolatry (Dt 7:25), child sacrifice (Dt 18:10), various sexual perversions (Lev 18:22), and dishonest practices (Dt 25:16). These were not just different cultural norms but actions utterly repugnant to the holy God.
• which have filled it from one end to the other: This phrase emphasizes the extensive and pervasive nature of the defilement. It wasn't isolated incidents but a widespread corruption that permeated every aspect of the land, leaving no part untouched. This thorough saturation of evil justified God's judgment upon the previous inhabitants.
• with their uncleanness: A repetition of the theme of defilement, using tum'ah again. The repetition underscores the grave and pervasive nature of the land's spiritual pollution by the foreign inhabitants and their practices.

Ezra 9 11 Bonus section

The concept of the land being defiled is crucial to biblical theology. In the Old Testament, the land itself is seen as responsive to the actions of its inhabitants. It can "vomit out" its people due to their pervasive wickedness, as described in Leviticus 18:25, 28. This imagery powerfully conveys the idea that sin is not merely a human moral failing but has a tangible effect on creation, contaminating even the very ground upon which life thrives. Ezra's understanding of this concept drives his profound dismay; he knows that the current compromise jeopardizes the fragile return and risks another expulsion, precisely because they are repeating the pattern of the pre-exilic inhabitants and their own ancestors. The warnings from the prophets underscored a covenant boundary: God's people were to be distinct, a "holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). Intermarriage was more than a social custom; it was a religious compromise that invariably led to idolatry and spiritual impurity, breaking the very core of their covenant relationship with Yahweh and nullifying their sacred identity.

Ezra 9 11 Commentary

Ezra 9:11 forms a cornerstone of Ezra's passionate confession, articulating the historical and theological basis for the sin of intermarriage among the returning exiles. It grounds their current failure in clear, previous divine warnings given through prophets like Moses and others (Deuteronomy 7:1-6, Leviticus 18). The land of promise, a holy inheritance, was intrinsically defiled by the practices of the Canaanite nations, whose idolatry and moral perversions (e.g., child sacrifice, incest, bestiality) were utterly abhorrent to a holy God. This "filthiness" and "abominations" are explicitly called out as having permeated the land completely, necessitating God's judgment and their expulsion. Ezra's plea is not one of ignorance but of willful disobedience, as God's people knew the dangers of blending with cultures that reject His laws. This verse serves as a sober reminder of God's unchanging standard of holiness and the perilous consequences of spiritual compromise. It implies that true possession of God's blessings requires living by His distinct laws, lest one replicate the very sins that led to the expulsion of prior inhabitants and, eventually, their own exile. For believers today, it serves as a powerful call to spiritual separation from the world's defiling influences, maintaining a holy distinction in thoughts, words, and deeds, lest compromise with worldly practices lead to spiritual uncleanness and a diminished relationship with God.